#make your request

“I’m here for you, Amy. I know something has been bothering you.” She squeezed his hand involuntarily. “Something that you haven’t told me.” She looked at him a little guilty, her brows knitting together with a sorrow in her eyes that he had never seen before. “You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.”

“It’s not that I don’t want to… It’s a lot. And it’s hard.” Her gaze returned to the ceiling, like she was looking for the words to speak her thoughts. “Do you remember Kano’s mental test?”

“Of course I do.” His thumb gently stroked her hand, her eyes were still fixed on the ceiling and he waited for her to continue, he didn’t want to pressure her.

“He showed me a lot of things there… Some memories from my childhood that I didn’t even know were there, some kind of alternative universe where you didn’t hire me and…” She paused for a moment, Adrian could hear how her heart beat faster so he moved their laced hands towards his lips, kissing her knuckles. “And my mother.” She had never talked about her mother so he knew how hard this would be for her. “He showed me a memory… She was feeling bad, a strong headache, so I made her tea and, when I tried to hug her, she pushed me away.”

“I’m so sorry, love.” His heart ached imagining how she had felt and the arm under her back pulled her closer, kissing the side of her head. “You deserve better than that.”

“You don’t have any idea how many times I’ve wondered what I could have changed or what I did wrong, Adrian. But when Kano showed me I finally understood… She was a Bloodkeeper too, and when I touched her I could see things through her. And not pretty things precisely.” She rolled to her side, looking directly at him so he did the same, holding her waist. “And I know she was trying to protect me but I got so angry with her. I couldn’t understand why she kept something so important a secret from me. I could learn how to use my powers early! I could be more prepared to face Gaius or Rheya! Or at least know how to handle this, I–”

“Amy.” He said in a gentle but determined voice, his hand still in hers while the one hugging her back caressed her skin. “You can’t blame yourself or her for any of this. I wish you could see how extraordinary you are and how powerful you have become in a short time. Who knows what could have happened if you knew back then about all this, maybe nothing would change or maybe you would be a completely different person.”

“I know… Maybe I wouldn’t have met you and I wouldn’t change that for anything.” He smiled as her free hand cupped his cheek and their lips connected for a brief moment.

“Good. Cause I wouldn’t change that either, love.” She gave him that smile that he adored before becoming serious again. “That’s not everything, is it?” She shook her head. “You want to talk about it?… Did Gaius do something to you? His eyes turned red as he started to stand up, already livid. "I swear if he even touch you I–”

“No! No, nothing like that. Not this time, at least.” She grabbed his hand again, drawing him to the bed and close to her, their hands still clasped together. “It’s something that happened on the island, I…” She cut herself off and he noticed how nervous and worried she was. “I know every generation has one Bloodkeeper and when I realized that my mother was one I was astonished, I didn’t expect she was it too, I thought it was just a coincidence.”

“And it’s not?” He asked furrowing his brows concerned as she shook her head. “It has something to do with the Tree of Death?”

“How do you know?”

“You were the only one capable of getting close and touching it, Amy. Not even Gaius or Kamilah could.”

“Sometimes I wish you weren’t this smart.” He chuckled a little before putting on a serious face again, stroking her cheek.

“It’s okay if you don’t want to tell me, love. You don’t have to.” He kissed her forehead.

“Inside that tree is Dimitrius… I didn’t know at that time how but he told me to get closer and touch it and… when I did… it took my mind to his mind palace. And I saw him. Or this not death version of him.” Adrian was listening, concentrated on her words, his eyes never leaving hers and his free hand constantly caressing her skin. “He told me about Reyha and Iola… That Iola actually lived and, when Reyha became the Eternal Life tree and Dimitrius the Tree of Death, through her connection with them she developed her own powers, she became the first Bloodkeeper ever. She got married and had a child, also a Bloodkeeper. And her daughter gave birth to another Bloodkeeper and so until–”

“–Until you.” He finished the sentence stroking her cheek as she nodded furrowing with sadness. “So that means…” She nodded again.

“It’s not a coincidence that both my mother and I are Bloodkeepers, I’m the granddaughter of Reyha and Dimitrius, I carry this power because of them. I survived Gaius’ attack because of that.”

“That actually explains a lot.” He pointed out, a thoughtful look in his eyes, analyzing everything that she had told him. “Your psychic powers, your unusual Turning…”

“I know but..” She paused for a moment, like she was trying to compose herself. “But what if I turn like her? Consuming by the darkness? I’ve been having this awful nightmare where I have my hands covered in ashes and I’m so angry, like I want to attack everybody.” She was talking faster, her eyes shining filled with tears and her heartbeat high speed, almost like panicked. “And then it’s what Serafine told me, that she sensed darkness inside me and–”

“Amy, love, please stop for a second and hear me out.” He cupped her cheek, placing soothing circles there as she looked at him. “You are not Reyha. The fact that you descend from her doesn’t mean you are going to be consumed by the dark like her. You are strong. You are the light I never expected to have in my life. You are the one who saved me from my own darkness. Never forget that.”

“But Serafine told me she saw darkness inside me. What if I end up hurting someone, like Lily? Or Kamilah? Or Jax? Or you Adrian? What if those ashes are yours? I couldn’t live without you! I can’t lose you! And I could never forgive myself if something bad happens to you because of me!” The tears started to flood freely on her face and Adrian hugged her as tightly as he could, letting her cry as long as she needed, his arms holding her close and protectively, his hands stroking her back and hair. She pressed herself closer, hugging him almost desperately as the tears fell on his naked shoulder and their legs tangled together, there was no space between them and still seemed not close enough.

“It’s going to be fine, I promise. No matter what I won’t leave you, I swear, Amy.” He kissed her head, leaving his lips there for a long time, her sobs making her body tremble and his heart ache.

“You c-can’t promise that.” Her voice muffled from his shoulder.

“I can. Like you promised me the same thing when you woke up, remember?” He felt the ghost of her smile on his skin for a moment. “And I also can promise you we are going to defeat Reyha.” He separated from her slightly, looking into her still watery eyes. “And that I will help you in any way I can. Dealing with darkness or not. You didn’t abandon me when my own darkness almost consumed me in Paris and I won’t leave you alone. I love you Amy, you don’t have any idea how much.”

“I love you too, Adrian.”

“I don’t care what your dreams are showing you or what Serafine has said, we both know what she has been up to lately.” His tone was angry for a moment. “You are not dark Amy and we are going to be okay, we are going to travel around the world together and maybe find a place in New York or wherever you’d like to move together. If you want to.”

“You want to live with me?” She asked opening her eyes big and a tiny smile blossoming on her lips, even if her face was soaked with tears.

“I want everything with you, love. Forever.” He dried her cheeks, lovingly brushing her skin.

“I want that too.” He rolled to his back and she leaned her head on his chest, hugging him, as his hand caressed her back. They stayed silent for a long time, softly kissing each other now and then, holding each other close.

“So, about this alternative universe…” Adrian said as she snuggled closer and he held her tightly.

“Yeah?” Her voice was still a little husky but her tone more calmed.

“Was I intoxicated? I would never pass on hiring you.” She chuckled and he smiled, glad to be capable of making her laugh for a bit.

“I think it was a jerk version of you. He even told Nicole to show me outside.”

“Outrageous.” She giggled again and kissed his chest, making him give a pleased sigh. “Are you feeling better?”

“Yes, a lot. Thank you, handsome.” He lifted one of his brows and moved his head to the side, watching her smiling.

“Handsome? Not that I’m complaining.”

“Well, you can’t be the only one with cute pet names.” She responded softly, finally drifting asleep, feeling his lips on her forehead and his hands holding her.